Michael Hofstetter is a much sought-after conductor, with a broad repertoire stretching over several different epochs. The Baroque is undoubtedly one of Hofstetter’s main areas of expertise: his affinity for the works of Handel has been often proven at venues such as the Handel Festival in Karlsruhe and English National Opera in London.

Hofstetter was chief conductor of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra from 2006 to 2013, and together they have now recorded Handel’s Concerti grossi Nos 1, 6, 10 and 12 from his Opus 6 collection, along with the concerto grosso Alexander’s Feast. This last concerto, dating from 1736, was composed while Handel was still lord of the operatic world in London. Nevertheless, it already displays many familiar characteristics from his later concertos, with its sparkling allegro opening, its pastoral Largo, the rich counterpoint of its fugue and its dancelike final movement.

Handel’s subsequent concerti grossi offer one highpoint of the genre after another – and the masterful, transparent performances of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under Michael Hofstetter do full justice to this music. The concerti grossi op.6 can justly be regarded as the highpoint of Handel’s instrumental oeuvre, on a par with Bach’s 'Well-Tempered Clavier' and his 'Brandenburg' Concertos.